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Judge Sentences Idaho Students Killer to Life in Prison. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 23, 2025 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

JUDGE STEVEN HIPPLER, IDAHO 4TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT: -- gives him the spotlight, the attention and the power he appears to crave. Yet, even if I could force him to speak, which legally I cannot, how could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth? Do we really believe, after all of this, he is capable of speaking the truth, or of giving up something of himself to help the very people whose lives he destroyed?

Rather, I suspect the so-called reason would be dished out in enticing, self-serving, and aggrandizing untruthful bits leaving, leaving people wanting more information, more insight, and thus enhancing even further the power he seeks to hold. Even if we could get truthful insight into his why, I suspected it would not in any way quench one's thirst for actually understanding why in the first instance, because there is no reason for these crimes that could approach anything resembling rationality.

No conceivable reason could make any sense. And in the end, the more we struggle to seek explanation for the unexplainable, the more we try to extract a reason, the more power and control we give to him. In my view, the time has now come to end Mr. Kohberger's 15 minutes of fame. It's time that he be consigned to the ignominy and isolation of perpetual incarceration.

I know there has been concern about him collaborating on books or movies or other media projects, and I truly hope that someone does not stoop to affording him this spotlight that he desires in the name of clicks, royalties, or profits. While criminal behaviorists should study him, away from the spotlight, in an attempt to prevent other would-be killers from acting on their worst impulses. There should be no need for that to spill over into the public eye.

The great Idaho jurist Edward Lodge was known for trying to find something positive about every person he ever sentenced. And with over a half a century as a trial judge, that was a lot of people. This was often challenging. And I recall in one case, he said that the best he could come up with was the defendant had good penmanship. Truth be told, I'm unable to come up with anything redeeming about Mr. Kohberger because his grotesque acts of evil have buried and hidden anything that might have been good or intrinsically human about him.

His actions have made him the worst of the worst. Even in pleading guilty, he's giving nothing hinting of remorse or redemption, nothing suggesting even a recognition or understanding, let alone regret for, the pain that he has caused. And therefore, I will not attempt to speak about him further other than to simply sentence him, so that he's forever removed from civilized society

And accordingly, based upon his conduct and based upon the record before this court, recognizing the standards that govern this court's sentencing decisions as set forth in state B2 Hill (ph), I hereby sentence Mr. Kohberger as follows: On count one, burglary, 10 years fixed, zero years indeterminate. I also impose a fine of $50,000. Count two, first degree murder of Madison Mogen. I sentence the defendant to a fixed term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a fine of $50,000, and a civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim. On count three for first degree murder of Kaylee Goncalves, I sentence the defendant to a fixed term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a fine of $50,000, and a civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the victim of the family -- or to the family of the victim, pardon me.

On count four for the first degree murder of Xana Kernodle, I sentence the defendant to a fixed term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a fine of $50,000, and a civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim. On count five for the first degree murder of Ethan Chapin, I sentenced the defendant to a fixed term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a fine of $50,000, and a civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of the victim.

The sentences on counts one, two, three, four, and five shall run consecutively to one another. Restitution will be left open for 60 days. Defendant will be required to submit a DNA sample and a right thumb print permission to the Department of Corrections and comply with the DNA Database Act. I remand the defendant to the custody of the Idaho State Board of Corrections for him to be imprisoned in an appropriate facility and execution of this sentence where he will remain until he dies.

[13:35:00]

Though you have waived your right to appeal, you do have a right to file a notice of appeal, and any such appeal must be filed within 42 days the date of the written judgment, which will be entered shortly hereafter. Though the appeal, you should be aware, may be deemed a violation of the plea agreement and so, I certainly suggest you discuss that with counsel, if that is your desire. I ask the media and public present to allow the families to be escorted out first.

Before they leave, again, thank you to everyone for your stories today. I am strengthened by them and I am encouraged by your humanity and strength. And God bless you. We're adjourned.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And that is, the end of the sentencing of Bryan Kohberger for the murders of Maddie Mogen. Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He will be heading to prison here in just a few moments. We have Veronica Miracle, who is outside of the courthouse and has been following this from the very beginning. Veronica, talk to us a little bit about what happened in there.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, just so much to take in. Incredibly emotional testimony from all of the victim's families, but the judge -- the judge who just gave those sentences right now, those consecutive sentences, the way that he spoke with such disdain for Kohberger, I think, is really remarkable. Talking about his grotesque acts of evil have made him the worst of the worst. He also talked about this overarching question of why did he do it

Now, Kohberger was given the opportunity to speak and he declined. He said, I respectfully declined, so we did not hear from him. We will never know potentially -- we'll never know now why he did this. And the judge said he actually personally grappled with that, that why did this happen? But then he came to the conclusion that even if he did speak, even if Kohberger was given the opportunity to explain himself, how would we know that that is the truth?

He also talked about wanting to end Kohberger's 15 minutes of fame and send him off to prison where he will never be a free man. He will never see the light of day again. And so, the judge also very emotional throughout this whole entire process, was crying when those victims' families were speaking as well as Prosecutor Bill Thompson, he was also incredibly emotional as well as the whole prosecution team.

So that was just so remarkable to see all of this, the emotion throughout the entire courtroom, and then hearing from those victims' families about how this has destroyed each of them in so many different ways. There was grief that is just unimaginable, and then there was rage and anger. And instead of trying to paraphrase what they said, I want you to hear from the family of Kaylee Goncalves. Kaylee's father and her older sister spoke. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALIVEA GONCALVES, SISTER OF KAYLEE GONCALVES: Let me be very clear. Don't ever try to convince yourself you mattered just because someone finally said your name out loud. I see through you. You want the truth? Here's the one you'll hate the most. If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a pedophile, Kaylee would've kicked your (expletive).

STEVE GONCALVES, FATHER OF KAYLEE GONCALVES: Today, we are here to finish what you started. Today, you've lost control. Today, we are here to prove to the world that you picked the wrong families, the wrong state, the wrong police officers, the wrong community. You tried to break our community apart. You tried to plant fear. You tried to divide us. You failed. Instead, your actions have united everyone in their disgust for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: So you heard the rage, the disdain, the grief. And then there was also forgiveness from one family, from Xana Kernodle's aunt, one of the victim's aunts. She said, anytime you want to talk, I'm here, no judgment. I'll be the one that'll listen to you. She did forgive him.

[13:40:00]

And then, we also heard from the roommates who were victims themselves of a burglary. They had to witness the aftermath of all of this. They also were the ones who lost all of their friends. That was incredibly emotional testimony. That was right off the top right at the beginning. And they talked about how traumatized they continue to be. They both talked about how they have to sleep in their parents' beds because they're scared. They double lock the doors. They barely left their house. Panic attacks. The trauma still exists in their body and their freedom, their privacy, everything has been stripped from them, their hopes and dreams.

They were once young college students, and now they have been forever scarred by this. So, the testimony that we've heard today really brings a very, very tragic close to this two-and-a-half year saga. But now, it is officially done. Back to you.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": There were so many vulnerable moments in there. And it was interesting, because it was clearly difficult for the judge to process this. And there was a motion in his voice and real dismissiveness for Kohberger saying, he said, we might ask the question why you did these, carried out these horrible crimes. But he said that, one, will give you power. And two, why should we believe what you would say? He said, you would lie once again.

I'm paraphrasing here. But the families, of course, too vulnerable. We have a statement from the Goncalves family to CNN I received just a short time ago. And in addition to the comments you saw Steve Goncalves, the father of Kaylee Goncalves, say there in the courtroom, he said this. He said, how do you heal when someone you love has been taken away forever? Is healing really even the right word?

Do you ever heal from something like this? What we can do is take one hour at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time, and so on and so on. That's the thing. It's the end of the legal process here. And Kohberger, as you heard from the judge there, consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He's not going to see the light of day. But the family, they're going to carry this with them as any family would.

KEILAR: That's right. And clearly, as the prosecutor saw this, trying to justify his decision --

SCIUTTO: Understand (ph).

KEILAR: -- and the team's decision to go with the plea deal here, there was a sense and he was sort of making the case that the plea sentence created this finiteness, right?

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

KEILAR: To the phase of what will happen to Bryan Kohberger? Is he guilty? And he seemed to be making the case that this then could allow the families to concentrate --

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

KEILAR: -- on the victims to maybe focus on healing. But certainly, a number of the families are not happy about that.

SCIUTTO: They're not. They were public. Steve Goncalves among them. He wanted a trial because he wanted the possibility of the death penalty.

KEILAR: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: Which is possible in the state of Idaho, and the plea agreement took that off the table. And he has said, Steve Goncalves, that he's worried that prisons today are too comfortable, right? That he could be on the internet and watch television shows and this kind of thing. So, you heard Bill Thompson, the prosecutor there, saying, Hey, listen, if we'd gone to trial, there could have been appeals for years, decades, and so on. Listen, it's a -- it's a difficult decision everyone involved in this had to make.

I believe we also have with us, Joey Jackson, Legal Analyst, as well as Adam Lankford, Criminologist. Joey, I want to ask you, from the courtroom, you've been in a lot of courtrooms in your life. Have you seen victim statements like we witnessed there with that emotion, that pain and that directness, right? Speaking directly into the eyes of Bryan Kohberger?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, Jim and Brianna. I mean, the reality of a sentencing day and certainly, allowing the victims to give their recitation of who their family members went, it really is not only emotional, it's compelling. It memorializes the people and the victims and what these four meant to their families, and the futures that were snatched away from them. And so, just tough moments and having the ability to express themselves as they under the law and under a system of justice, have a right to do.

And what is really telling, right Jim, with respect to all the statements that were made and certainly their agreement and disagreement in terms of whether there should have been pursuit of a trial and a death penalty, the emotion is not lost on anyone. You saw a prosecutor who was emotional. Why? Because it reminds you that the people that you work with as a prosecutor, yes, you're attempting to do justice in every case, but they are individuals who become known to you, as we look at them there. Their families become known to you. The pursuit of justice becomes real to you.

You see a judge on the bench who has to ultimately mete out the justice. And yes, it was a plea agreement. And of course, we knew what was anticipated, the four life sentences.

[13:45:00]

But still, to have a judge give the indication that there's no redeeming quality, I think certainly, that resonates with everyone to say about the issue. And you pointed this out, Jim, in terms of why? Well, we may never know. If he did say, why is that really to be believed? And then certainly, by saying when the door slams, you become irrelevant. And the fact is, is that us wanting to know why is certainly giving him some measure of control.

And so, yeah, I mean it's all -- any type of situation, particularly this one, it just rips at your heart because it reminds you what the courtroom is all about. It reminds you what justice is all about, if you can call it that. And it just reminds you about how people really have families and loved ones and how it was stripped apart just unimaginably and just senselessly. And so, he chose not to speak. Final thought, Jim, that look, he had an opportunity, not compelled, that as a defendant in this case to say something, chose not to say it, respectfully declining, whatever that would mean.

But now, here we see that he'll spend the rest of his natural life in jail with no probability or possibility to be released at any time.

SCIUTTO: Yeah. That word struck out -- stuck out to me too, when he said I respectfully decline. I have to imagine the family in that courtroom said, respectfully, excuse me? You've confessed to these horrible murders.

KEILAR: Yeah. You sort of felt that. I think we heard sort of an audible response, but it was hard to tell from whom. Adam, I wonder specifically, as we heard -- actually, just one moment. Adam, if you can stand by Joey. Let's go to the White House where they're actually talking about this sentencing.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- four precious souls. We are so sorry for the grief and the pain you have experienced at the hands of such a vicious and evil killer. Our nation grieves with you. And we will never forget the precious souls who were lost in this horrific act of evil. If it were up to the president, he would've forced this monster to publicly explain why he chose to steal these innocent souls. May God bless and watch over everyone affected by this unimaginable tragedy, especially the parents who lost their children.

Let me begin with a few scheduling items off the top. Later this afternoon, President Trump will deliver the keynote address --

SCIUTTO: Joey, just a question for you. The White House spokesperson there said that if it was up to the president, he would've forced Kohberger to explain. I mean, is there any legal basis for that statement?

JACKSON: So Jim, there is not. What happens is, is that at an allocution not to speak legalese, but an allocution is a process wherein you're entering the actual plea of guilty. And at that allocution, which there was one held, I believe it was on July 2nd, there were questions that were posed to the defendant in this case. Did you do this? Are you accepting responsibility or at least admitting to the murders that you committed? There has to be answers to those questions.

The allocution that is you are accepting the fact that you're guilty of this has to be explained from your mouth. You have to be competent in order to do that.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

JACKSON: All that was deemed to be, that he was. But at a sentencing, you have no obligation to speak and cannot --

SCIUTTO: OK.

KEILAR: All right, Joey, sorry to interrupt you. Let's go back to Boise now, where the Goncalves family is speaking to the media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- corroborate things?

STEVE GONCALVES: It would corroborate things. And he even addressed there, there's been way too many conspiracies and the surviving witnesses had to go through hell. Well, no way -- no better way to protect them then by getting some of those details. If you got those details, then, as simple as just saying, I did it solo would've been valuable I think. And stand by the whole -- the negotiation wasn't -- wasn't justice. It was just a -- it was a shortcut. And we -- we said from the very beginning, we don't -- we're not interested in the shortcut for our daughter. So, we wanted everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve, you turned to podium at one point. Talk to us about why you wanted to stare at (inaudible)?

STEVE GONCALVES: Because he's a coward. He's been protected by the court from day one, the minute that he was arrested. So, I wanted to let him know that I was directing everything towards him. And his days of being protected are coming to an end. From what I've been explained, he gets on a van today and he's got like 11, 12-minute ride, and then he'll be -- he'll be the responsibility of Idaho State.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you planning on turning the podium though, or did you do that?

STEVE GONCALVES: I probably -- I remember reading it saying, do not move. So I was like, well, I'm moving this. I'm -- I just kind of made that decision right then and there. So, you know what? I want to make it as difficult as possible. I knew my daughter was going to do a speech and I'd heard it. And I was like, he's going to hate this. He's going to hate this next set of people that are going to come forward and really rip into him and really expose him for what kind of a piece of trash he was.

[13:50:00]

And we've been waiting a long time to say some of those things that needed to be said.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).

STEVEN GONCALVES, BROTHER OF KAYLEE GONCALVES: I've written up the statement, I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, maybe this is where you do it. STEVEN GONCALVES: OK. Well, allow me a second.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe it wasn't court appropriate.

STEVEN GONCALVES: Yeah, it wasn't. It definitely wasn't. Yeah. My name is Steven Goncalves. I'm Kaylee's older brother. She was my little sister, my friend, the middle child in the heart of our family. There are no words that can fully describe her spirit, but if you knew her, you knew joy, you knew light, you knew someone who made everything better just by being in the room. My statement was largely grounded in one goal, and that was to do everything for anyone who listens to this and has to go through something similar, to not have to endure what we had.

My family has fought tirelessly, not just for answers, but for accountability. We've stood in front of cameras behind closed doors and across from people who didn't want us to speak, but we did, and we won't stop now. Across nearly every murder case prosecuted by Bill Thompson, including the killing of University of Idaho football player, Eric McMillan, there is a clear and troubling pattern. Families are left feeling unheard. Justice is negotiated down through plea deals, and the public is left with unanswered questions.

In the McMillan case, charges were reduced from first degree to second degree murder, prompting confusion and outrage from the victim's family and community. Same pattern has emerged in the Silas Parks and John Lee cases, both of which prosecuted by Bill Thompson, where capital-eligible crimes were resolved through plea agreements, sidestepping trials and diminishing public accountability.

The most egregious of these crimes was the brutal killing of Whitney Parks, a young pregnant woman whose life was taken by her husband, Silas Parks during a violent domestic assault. Whitney was only 22 years old when she was beaten and strangled in her own home, an act of cruelty that not only ended her life, but also the life of her unborn child. And yet, despite the devastating nature of this crime, Bill Thompson reduced the charges from murder to voluntary manslaughter, ultimately securing a sentence that allowed Parks the possibility of parole after just five years.

There was no trial, no full accounting of what Whitney endured, no acknowledgement in the legal outcomes of the child she was carrying. For Whitney's family and for anyone who believes that justice system should speak forcefully for victims, this wasn't justice. It was a deal, and it was like so many others under Thompson's watch, it prioritized expedience over accountability. Now, almost predictably, we find ourselves reliving that pattern in the current case.

Despite the magnitude and brutality of the crime, the prosecution chose to accept a plea deal behind closed doors without trial, without ever consulting our family in any meaningful way. In fact, we learned from the plea deal that had been finalized from an email from the prosecution team, not in person, not with warning, not with respect. That moment underscored what we feared all along, and that -- that this case was following the same well-worn path toward expedience over justice. Sentencing, once again, fails to reflect the severity of the act and the emotional fallout has landed again on the shoulders of the victim's families who have been left out unheard and grieving, not just a horrific loss, but a system that continues to bypass them. The through line is undeniable. Whether it's 2004 or 2025, this prosecution -- this prosecutor -- prosecutional, is that a word? Sorry. Prosecutional approach has consistently abandoned the very approach it is -- or the very people it is supposed to protect.

The trend you'll notice from Thompson's prosecutor triumph tribe are the following: Plea bargains avoiding capital punishment, charged reductions, sentences that misaligned with the gravity of the crime, lack of trial due to plea bargains. These aren't just failures in process. They're failures that have real consequences for real people. After reviewing Bill Thompson's history, it's clear our family was never given a fair chance at justice.

But this isn't just about a prosecutor's record, it's about Kaylee, it's about my sister. She's not just one of the Idaho four. She was a daughter, a sister, a best friend, and the light in every room she walked into. When the prosecution followed the same path we've seen before, closed doors, limited input, and a plea deal handed down without our voice, it became painfully clear that Kaylee was being treated just like another case.

But she wasn't. She was everything to us, and our pain has only deepened knowing that the system didn't fight for her the way she deserved.

[13:55:00]

I'll leave everyone with this. There's a thousand things I wish I could say to Kaylee. But today, I'll just say this. I will always carry her with me for the rest of my life, and I'll never stop being her brother. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Listen to Steven Goncalves there, the brother of Kaylee Goncalves and her father Steve Goncalves spoke earlier. One quite clear point from all of them is that the Goncalves family at least is not happy with the plea deal that that allowed Kohberger to avoid a trial and the possibility of a death penalty in Idaho. Negotiation is injustice, Steve Goncalves said, the father, it's a shortcut and we're not interested in a shortcut for our daughter.

KEILAR: Yeah. It does not feel like justice to them. That is very clear. Adam Lankford, I want to talk to you. You're a criminologist. And I wonder, as you were listening to these victim impact statements, the impact statement of Kaylee Goncalves' sister was, I mean, I've only listened to so many, but I've covered a number of trials and it was unlike anything I have ever heard.

It was designed to diminish Bryan Kohberger in just a relentless way. And while he is incredibly stoic, if you trained your eyes on him, you could sort of see him responding a little bit to what she was saying. What did you think about what she was saying and how someone like him responds to that? Because I think that perhaps it was received as intended.

ADAM LANKFORD, PROFESSOR OF CRIMINOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: Yeah, I think it was very well thought out by her. You can, of course, empathize with the victim's families, those who want to say, what can I get up there and say that will make him feel some pain? And of course, one approach would be to say, to emphasize that he was a killer, that he violated the law, that he did something immoral. But, the problem is that didn't seem to register as much with him. Of course, he knew he was a killer, and that could even be seen as empowering.

What she did instead was really to belittle him, to call him a failure. Look, this was a guy who was studying criminology, and then tried to commit a crime he would get away with and utterly failed. So, she even kind of involved a little gender shaming in there, right? Suggesting that he was weak, that her sister would've kicked his ass. So I think, it probably registered in a way that he could be OK feeling like he was a killer, but not OK feeling like he was weak or a failure.

KEILAR: And Adam, the thing that, and the judge talked a little bit about this, right? The motive, we don't -- we don't have insight to that. And to actually know what it might be is probably unsatisfying. The judge kind of got into that. Can you talk a little bit about, in your experience, what it may be here? And we may never learn. We will see. But, what do you think?

LANKFORD: Well, at the very least, we know there was some form of premeditation here. So based on the evidence on cell phone records and things like that, it seems like he was kind of casing or surveilling this house and these victims for a long time in advance of the crime. So that's compelling. The fact that he was studying crime as part of his career, that's compelling. The fact that he kind of dressed up, this certainly wasn't a crime of passion or merely a burglary.

I think these all things all point to the idea that there was something really insidious going on here. That this was a predation, a hunting of these victims in some way. Of course, we'd like to get more answers. I do think it was a little bit self-serving by the judge, given the criticism, given the president saying we need to know why. It's kind of defensive by the judge to say, well, maybe we don't need to know why.

But the judge is right that like a killer, if someone's willing to kill, of course they're willing to lie. And we do have to be cautious moving forward if this individual comes out with self-serving statements that really might be a marketing package, PR rather than true admissions.

SCIUTTO: And that's a fear of the families that he'll write a book. And the judge referenced that, that he hopes that no one gives him a platform to do so, but the family at least is concerned that at some point, someone out there will want to hear his story and that'll give him another platform to kind of advertise himself.

KEILAR: Yeah. Adam, Joey, thank you so much for your insights. We are going to have much more on this in a moment. First though, let's shift gears and come back here to Washington where the White House press briefing is underway. The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is speaking right now.

TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: -- that Russia and Putin had which include -- on Hillary Clinton, which included possible criminal acts like secret meetings with multiple named U.S. --